Giving Up On You
by Angel of Neptune
Summary: (Mid-season 2) After Belle loses her memory from crossing the town line, Ruby tries to help her to remember who she is. When Belle remembers herself as Lacey instead, Ruby convinces herself that perhaps she too should move on.


**Title:** Giving Up On You

**Author:** AoN (bellalinguista)

**Word Count: **2,700

**Genre: **Romance, Angst

**Rating: **T

**Summary:** (Mid-season 2) After Belle loses her memory from crossing the town line, Ruby tries to help her to remember who she is. When Belle remembers herself as Lacey instead, Ruby convinces herself that perhaps she too should move on.

Frowning, Ruby stood in an empty hospital room that should have been anything but. Ruby was now both confused and concerned. It was only a few days ago, Ruby recalled, where she lay in bed with her arm resting behind her head on the pillow, staring up towards the slowly spinning ceiling fan, wondering how. How did they get to this moment, a moment that felt so perfect, so right? In this moment, nothing could go wrong and there were no impending consequences. In such a short period of time, so much changed.

Ruby remembered that the blankets of the shared bed came up to her waist, exposing her breasts. At her side, a sleeping Belle was curled against her; Ruby's other arm wrapped in her grasp, their fingers interlocked as their bare skin touched. The corners of Ruby's smile tugged into a slight smirk as she watched the wings of the fan spin repeatedly in the same circle. Her skin still tingled at the traces of kisses parted from Belle's small, sweet kisses and it shivered at the remnants of Belle's wandering novice fingers.

The feelings Ruby had for Belle, she tried to keep at bay for her own sake. Ruby was not a stranger to a tragic loss and a broken heart. She loved once and, by her own hand, it ended in catastrophe. She did not think she would be able to love again, not after Peter, but then Belle appeared in Storybrooke after the curse broke. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Ruby felt the familiar flutters in her heart, and that had only been the beginning.

With Peter, Ruby had fallen slowly, but with Belle, it felt as though she fell all at once, pinning for another's affection. Ruby tried to force herself to ignore any feelings she might have had, but she soon later changed her mind and decided, instead, that she would try to force herself to slowly fall once again. The slowly crawling Ruby stumbled over her attempt to love once again and fell hard once more.

Belle shifted slightly in her sleep, Ruby recalled, and Belle rested the side of her head against Ruby's shoulder. Her slow, warm breath against Ruby gave her goose bumps that paled in comparison to those caused by the heavy breathing against Ruby's neck and the attempted stifled moans in her ear.

In the raging heat of passion, Ruby moaned those three little, yet heavy words and Belle conceived them to be a product of that intense moment, but Ruby repeated them after, confessing the secret she had been hiding since the curse came to an end.

They could not continue in this manner, Belle told her, immediately making Ruby feel incredibly small and foolish. Ruby chastised herself for being over her head. What did she knew about matters of love? Nothing. She knew nothing at all.

In those short, few seconds, Ruby attempted to brace herself for Belle to admit that she did not feel the same way about Ruby, but that confession never came. Instead, Belle said there was something she had to do before they could be together. She did not have to explain what task she needed to tackle. Ruby understood. After that, Belle curled up against Ruby and Ruby held her until she drifted to sleep.

What happened after that evening, Ruby was not certain. Belle left the bed and breakfast in the morning and she was absent for the entire day. When night fell upon the small town, Mary Margaret informed Ruby that something had gone wrong and that she had to go to the hospital right away. Mary Margaret did not have to say. Ruby already knew.

It was Belle.

With Peter's death in the back of her mind and the haunting phantom taste of copper lingering on her tongue, Ruby expected the worse, but the reality of the matter was graver. With no memories of their world, Belle forgot who she was. She forgot everything. She forgot Ruby.

Memories, however, could be returned: the whole town was a testament to this. Ruby was not about to let a good thing go. Ruby was not about to give up on Belle. She was going to stay at Belle's side, she would follow her through all this. She would not leave Belle's side. She would follow Belle anywhere.

She loved her.

The first few visits were rather silent; a very hesitant Belle was not receptive of Ruby. Belle had a hard time believing that they were friends, let alone something more. Ruby did not try to convince her of anything else. It probably would not have been appropriate. A couple of days past, Belle's condition did not improve. Her memories were not coming back. It became evident that just showing up and reminiscing about a past she could not recall was not at all helpful.

So, Ruby came with a basket full of goodies from Granny's Diner: baked goods, mostly, and Ruby had bottled the iced tea, anything that would jump-start Belle's memories. She even brought one of their favorite books, from one of Belle's favorite authors, Jules Verne. Belle did not seem interested in any of it.

No, Belle's interest was in something else: that man, on that night she woke up in the middle of the street. That man had summoned a fireball in his bare hand! How was that possible? Belle was more adamant than all previous times. Usually, Ruby was able to brush it aside and continue on with the rather one-sided conversation, but that time… the last time, it was different. Belle would not allow Ruby to move on. Belle kept on insisting. Who was that man? How was he able to handle fire?

Not to mention, there was not a lot, if anything at all, that Belle could recall, but she vividly remembered being shot. She was shot, but the same man – he did something! Belle was not treated for a gun shot wound because, according to the nurses and the doctor, she had not even been shot. They were lying to her. She knew – she _knew_ she had been shot! What was happening? Why were they lying to her?

If they were friends, then why was Ruby lying to her?

Before Ruby could formulate a response, the nurses descended upon Belle who caused quite the scene in the waiting room. Ruby watched in silent horror as Belle fell limp against one of the nurses. Another suggested that Ruby should leave. Belle had had enough visitors for the day.

Last night, Ruby could not sleep. How could she?

Laying in bed, Ruby stared up at the ceiling fan, a small action she did only a few days, content, but now she was so far from the feeling. She laid alone, Belle's question echoing loudly in her head. Why was she lying to her? Why couldn't she just tell her the truth?

…why couldn't she just tell Belle the truth?

Yes, Belle, you did see magic. You did see that man conjugate a ball of fire into his hand. He was the very same man that healed your gun shot wound – yes, you did get shot at the town limits. And no, they were not friends.

Well, yes, they were friends, but Ruby wanted to be so much more and, yes, Belle, you wanted the very same thing – at least, Ruby guessed that what you wanted. You were on your way to ensure that things would be able to unfold in ways that you both wanted, but then… but then you, Belle, disappeared for the entire day, without a word.

How did Belle end up at the town limits? How did Belle end up at gunpoint? How did Belle end up without the memories that made Ruby feel the happiest she has been since Peter?

How was Ruby going to get Belle to remember, to get the answers of her own questions, if Ruby kept beating around the bush during her hospital visits? No, the following morning, Ruby was going to go and Ruby was finally going to tell the truth.

Except, now, as Ruby stood in the doorway of the empty hospital room that had once been occupied by Belle, she couldn't.

Her eyes stopped at the foot of the made hospital bed. Frowning, Ruby took a couple of steps forward and picked up the only thing that remained of Belle in the room: the Jules Verne book Ruby had brought a couple days prior. Eyebrows furrowing in even more confusion, Ruby turned around and stepped back out in the hallway where she stopped a passing nurse.

"Um, excuse me," Ruby spoke up, trying not to sound too frazzled. "This room. Why? Why is it empty? Where's Belle? The, uh, the patient?"

"She checked out earlier this morning," the nurse replied.

"What do you mean she checked out?" Ruby pressed.

"Unfortunately, miss, I cannot discuss patients unless you are family," the nurse responded.

Ruby's frown only grew and, with a small sigh, she nodded. "I understand," she said, turning her attention back to the room. There was no need to press on, especially when Ruby had her own ways to tracking down things that she was looking for. She waited until the nurse had cleared the hallway before closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

There it was, masquerading already behind the overwhelming anesthetic and disinfectant smell: Belle. Ruby quickly left the hospital. A sensitive nose was not the only disguised blessing of being a werewolf; Ruby followed after Belle's scent at super speed, leading her back into the center of town and then to…

Ruby stopped and looked up at the establishment she stood in front of: the Rabbit Hole.

She had to be wrong. Why would Belle be here of all places? Another deep whiff, however, confirmed that her nose did not lead her astray. Belle was inside the bar, one that Ruby had been all too familiar with during the twenty-eight years of the curse. This wasn't a place Ruby could see Belle.

With Jules Verne's book at her side, Ruby pushed her way through the front door. Ruby recoiled as she stepped inside, overpowered by the mixed smoke of blended cigarettes. The jukebox played some 80s rock track in the back corner. The bartender stood behind his bar, wiping down a glass as he chattered with a patron sitting across from him. The loud snap of pool balls separating caught Ruby's attention. As she turned towards the pool table, Ruby was met with a whirl of different emotions.

There was a sense of content, a mild form of happiness, to see that Belle was all right and in one piece, but that still did not answer the question Ruby had: why was she here to begin with? And why was she talking to that man and leaning over the pool table in those… short, tight—Ruby shook her head in an attempt to pull herself together.

She walked over to the pool table and stood in between the two. "Hey!" Ruby spoke up. "It's great to see you out of the hospital," she added, side stepping in unison with Belle who tried to look over Ruby's shoulder towards the man.

"Yeah, well, I'm better," Belle replied, watching as the man gave up and head to another part of the bar. Rolling her eyes, Belle sighed heavily, annoyed.

Ruby's frown grew as she tilted her had to the side slightly. "Did you get your memories back, Belle?" she asked, perplexed with her behavior.

"That's not my name."

"What…?"

"Yes, I got my memories back," she clarified. "But you keep calling me 'Belle.' I'm not Belle. I'm Lacey."

"I don't understand."

"What's there to not understand?" Lacey asked, leaning against the edge of the pool table. "I'm not this Belle person you all keep insisting that I am."

"But we're not insisting," Ruby pressed, looking down at the book in her hands. "You're Belle-"

"Honey, I'm not who you think I am-"

Ruby quickly shook her head, pushing the book towards her. "You live in the apartment above the library – the library that you've cleaning up and organizing for the town. You live for books because of the daring sword fights and adventures," Ruby went on.

Lacey took the book from her. She looked down at it in slight disgust. "I don't like reading," Lacey confessed.

"And you'd come into the diner," Ruby continued. "During my shifts. I'd suggest items you've never tried before because you weren't familiar with this land-"

"What are you talking about?" Lacey asked, fighting back a laugh. Ruby pulled back as her shoulders fell. Belle's laugh in the past was always giddy and her giggles nervous. This laugh, however, had a bite. It was mocking.

"Do you… do you not remember where you were before the hospital?" Ruby asked. "Before the accident?"

"I was here at the bar," Lacey replied. "Why?"

"No," Ruby said, her shaking voice betraying her. She hoped that Belle would say something familiar, that she would suddenly snap out of this and truly remember who she was. "No, you weren't."

"Well isn't that a surprise," Lacey mocked surprise.

"This isn't you, Belle," Ruby said softly. "You were with me. We were together. We were both happy and we love each other. At least, I love you. I thought you were going to say it back, but you wanted to take care of something first and-"

"I'm not this Belle person! I don't even like that stingy diner or books – they're boring and pointless!" Lacey snapped, tossing the book aside onto the pool table. "I was here. I wasn't with you – I don't even know you. How can I possibly 'love' someone I don't even know?"

"But you do know me," Ruby insisted after she flinched. There was that mocking laugh once more. Ruby felt a lump growing in her throat. She lowered her head and picked up the haphazardly tossed book, swallowing hard. Ruby gingerly held it close to her chest, just over her heart, as thought protecting it from any further damage.

Ruby shook her head. "Never mind," she said in a small voice, taking a step back. As much as Ruby wanted to push on and fight back for the sake of her own pride, she decided to let it be. Trying to infringe even more on memories that were not returning was not going to help.

Telling Belle the truth was not helping. If anything, Ruby was too late. She should have told Belle sooner – maybe then it would have helped her remember who she truly was. Ruby should have told Belle that she was the one that she loved.

"I, uh, guess.." Ruby's voice trailed off, having difficulty finding the right words – if there were any right words. "I guess, good bye, then."

Without another word, Ruby turned around and headed towards the exit. She knew she did not leave any lasting impressions on Bel- … on Lacey. She heard her turn around and pick up where she left off in the pool game.

She couldn't stay in the bar anymore. Ruby stepped outside and looked down at the book in her arms. Her lips, tugged into a frown, began to tremble. The lump in her throat returned and her eyes stung. This was not how she guessed it would have turned out at all. It was not the fact that Belle did remember who she was, although she remembered someone else, that Ruby did not guess would occur.

No, instead, what surprised her was the fact that Ruby was giving up not only on Belle, but on love, this easily.

**The End**


End file.
